Minutes of INTER-AGENCY MEETING Beirut, 6 June 2014

Minutes of INTER-AGENCY MEETING Beirut, 6 June 2014

Meeting Location Chair person

UNHCR-Lea Bldg-1st floor conference room Anne-Marie Kerrigan-Deriche Senior Coordination Officer

Minutes Prepared by

Lara Techekirian – Inter-agency Coordination Associate

Meeting Time Meeting Duration

10:00 A.M 2 hours

Purpose of Meeting

1. Registration update 2. Border update 3. WASH Scarcity update 4. Search For Common Ground (SFCG) presentation 5. Updates on IM Tool 6. AOB Summary of discussions and action points 1.

Registration update by Rana Ksaifi – Registration Officer  Current situation: 1,092,218 registered and awaiting registration.  The average waiting period in Lebanon has increased 3 days: 29 days – due to an increase in appointments in the Bekaa.  May Thematic Registration Questionnaire finalized (1,161 HH Surveyed) with objective to better understand the scope of refugees’ registration with the local municipalities and implications on their lives. Detailed report will be uploaded on the web portal.  The IA Referral form is developed.  Business Card Registration Leaflet will be shared.  Referral form for ROVs is developed & training will be provided end-June.  First set of results of the UNICEF Polio Campaign shows very few unregistered refugees.  Note on Fast Track and Access to Registration is finalized and to be shared soon.  Q&A session was conducted with LHIF regarding registration – can share the explanatory note to interested partners.  2 mobile registrations will be conducted before Ramadan in Shebaa and Wadi Khaled.

2.

Border update by Samuel Cheung- Senior Protection Officer  

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31 May 2014 – MOIM Statement to request Syrians to refrain from travel to Syria after 1 June, otherwise the Government will no longer consider them as displaced/refugees. UNHCR’s position remains unchanged – refugee status will remain for those in need of international protection. UNHCR does not de-register people for returning to Syria temporarily, which is done for many reasons, including to renew their documents, check on elderly or sick family members or property, or to see if it the situation in their villages is safe enough for return. Return to Syria does not necessarily mean a person no longer has a fear of persecution or faces serious risks for his or her life. Aimee Karam from MOSA clarified GOL position that refugees returning voluntarily to Syria can return to Lebanon but the status of refugee should not be applicable. The GOL statement is not yet implemented. UNHCR continues to advocate. UNHCR developing a Q&A that will be shared with partners for informing refugees. Important that same messages conveyed in order to avoid confusion and misinformation.

1 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – Lebanon Branch Office, Ramlet el-Baida Khater Building, Dr. Philippe Hitti Street, P.O. Box 11-7332, Tel.: +961 1 849 201, Fax: +961 1 849 211, e-mail: [email protected]

Inter-Agency Meeting 2 May 2014

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WASH Scarcity by Ross Tomlinson – Senior WASH Coordinator   

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4.

SFCG (Search for Common Ground) presentation by Emily Jacquard – Country Director – Lebanon    

5.

Water scarcity describes a situation where the demand for water outstrips the available means to supply water Lebanon is rich in water compared to other countries in the region; however there has been a pattern of dry years noted in the recent past. From the 505 million cubic metres (MCM) spent on domestic uses: o 48% is estimated to be ‘lost’ due to production inefficiency, pipe network leakages and theft. o Average Lebanese person consumes 205 litres per day. o Refugees living in apartments consume an estimated 175 LPD; those living in sub-standard shelters will consume much less. 2014 a concern due to large water deficit – estimated at around 720 MCM UNHABITAT has 14 potential water projects, estimated at approx. $1.2 Million, serving 150,000 Lebanese and 25,000 Syrian. Funding required strengthening the water scarcity response in the short-term. 2014 to-date total beneficiaries of water infrastructure are 427,000 of which 324,000 are affected Lebanese and 75,000 and 27,000 are Syrian and PRS respectively. UNHCR has accelerated preparation for scarcity: o Coordinating with the GOL in task force on water scarcity o Coordinating across sectors – with full engagement from health and social cohesion o Preparing an action plan that is currently in field review SFCG presented the findings of a recent assessment conducted in Tripoli and Tyr on dialogue and local response mechanisms to conflict – a UNHCR funded project over 19 months. A conflict scan is a tool to develop inclusive conflict response mechanisms when needed and mainstream conflict sensitivity throughout the project. Pilot project for Community Dialogue (11 target communities selected in partnership with UNHCR field offices local partners according to the vulnerability map of UNICEF and the GOL). The detailed report will be shared soon.

Updates on IM Tool by Jad Ghosn/ Malcolm Johnstone- Information Management Officer 

The IM team introduced a new Databox to access updated datasets & guidelines such as: o AI reporting guidelines o Updated lists of locations & P-codes (IS, Schools, PHC, SHC, MMUs). o Google Earth maps of all locations in Lebanon ready to be opened on mobile or desktop.  Ideas on how to improve new tools can be suggested and shared with the IM team 6.

AOB 

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Luciano Celestini, Deputy Representative of UNICEF informed that anomalies were found in the findings of the nutrition assessment presented to the inter-agency two months ago. As a result, the report has been removed from the website so that the findings are not quoted. Further analysis of the data is ongoing and will be issued shortly. Jerome Seregni, UNHCR’s Mass Information Officer, announced the establishment of a UNHCR website dedicated to refugees and asked interested agencies who wished to work on the project to contact him at [email protected] IA CP is finalized and endorsed by agencies. Matrix comprising preparedness activities for the IA and HCT contingency plans have been prepared and will be distributed to sector working groups in order to track


Inter-Agency Meeting 2 May 2014

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the status of preparedness activities. RRP6 final budget figure shows a reduction of some US$165 million. Appealing agencies reminded to provide funding information until 31 May broken down by sector to the Inter-Agency unit.

Attachments Document Presentation

Location http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/download.php?id=6051
